1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing Guilu Erxian Gao, a traditional Chinese medicine. More particularly, it relates to a new manufacturing procedure in which the medicinal materials of tortoise plastron and buckhorn are extracted with acid, followed by mixing the filtrates of ginseng and medlar and concentrating to obtain bioactive Guilu Erxian Gao.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Guilu Erxian Gao is a traditional Chinese medicine which has been used as a form of tonic medicine in China for a long period of time. Typically, Guilu Erxian Gao is prepared from the medicinal materials such as tortoise plastron, buckhorn, ginseng and medlar, and is used as an energy supplement and tonic.
The traditional method for producing Guilu Erxian Gao can be found in ancient books. First, 2.5 kg of tortoise plastron and 5 kg of buckhom are broken into pieces and decocted in water for 3 days with continuous heat. During the decocting period, boiling water is added frequently. Then the decoction is filtered to obtain a filtrate. Next, 940 g of medlar and 470 g of ginseng are decocted in water for 1 day, and the decoction is filtered to obtain a filtrate. The filtrates of four medicinal materials described above are pooled together and stewed to form a paste. Finally, the paste is air dried in the shade to obtain the product.
The current commercial method for producing Guilu Erxian Gao uses 100 kg of tortoise plastron, 50 kg of buckhorn, 6 kg of ginseng and 10 kg of medlar as medicinal materials. First, the tortoise plastron and buckhorn are washed and decocted in water for 4-6 days with continuous heat. During the decocting period, boiling water is added several times until the tortoise plastron and buckhom become brittle. Then the decoction is filtered to obtain a filtrate. Next, the medlar and ginseng are decocted in water for 1 day, and the decoction is filtered to obtain a filtrate. The resulting filtrates are pooled together and stewed to form a paste. Finally, the paste is air dried in the shade to obtain the product. Alternatively, in Taiwan, during the paste stewing, the foam produced after the first boiling is removed. Alum, crystal sugar and soybean oil may be added. Sometimes wine is added.
However, there are some drawbacks in the methods described above. The time required for the manufacturing process is very long, and the steps are minute and complicated. The tortoise plastron and buckhorn are decocted at least for 3 days, and then air-dried for a long period of time to produce the final product. In addition, boiling water has to be added during the decocting process. A single careless step can cause the loss of the entire batch.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a process for producing Guilu Erxian Gao, comprising the steps of. (a) extracting medicinal materials comprising tortoise plastron and buckhorn with an edible acid to obtain an extract; (b) dialyzing the extract; (c) decocting ginseng and medlar and filtrating to obtain a filtrate; and (d) concentrating the mixtures of dialyzed extract and the filtrate to form a gel-like solid.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for extracting the active protein ingredient contained in tortoise plastron and buckhorn with an acid.